Grass Roots Solutions: Peace From the Ground Up

Fry points out that, for perhaps 99 percent of our history, for well over a million years, humans lived in nomadic hunter-and-gatherer groups, egalitarian bands where generosity was highly valued and warfare was a rarity. Drawing on archaeology and fascinating fieldwork on hunter-gatherer bands from around the world, Fry debunks the idea that war is ancient and inevitable. A profoundly heartening view of human nature, "Beyond War" offers a hopeful perspective on our species and a positive prognosis for a future without war.

This book reveals Sergio Vieira de Mello's powerful legacy of humanity and ideological strength in the context of his troubleshooting attempts in Lebanon in the aftermath of Israel's 1982 invasion; in his taming of the Khmer Rouge and his repatriation of four-hundred-thousand Cambodian refugees in the early nineties; in his efforts to negotiate an end to the slaughter in Bosnia; in his struggle to nation-build in war-torn societies during his quasi-colonial governorships of Kosovo and East Timor; and through his tragic final posting as the UN representative in Baghdad, where he became the victim of the country's first-ever suicide bomb.

Thoreau wrote this classic essay to advocate public resistance to the laws and acts of government that he considered unjust. The practical application of "Civil Disobedience" was largely ignored until the 20th century when, at different times, Modanda Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and anti-Vietnam War activists applied Thoreau's principles for their cause.

Younger (senior policy scholar, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars) declares in the opening pages of this work: "I have always been a pacifist." Oddly, for a pacifist, he spent many years as a nuclear weapons designer and sees the Iraq War as a noble effort to promote democracy. In this volume he offers his musings on war and peace, warning that dangers from globalization and dictatorship pose challenges to the United States and calling for more "positive engagement" of the United States in the international arena for promoting democracy, addressing inequality, and increasing governance transparency around the world.

In a time of death and terror, Leymah Gbowee brought Liberia's women together -- and together they led a nation to peace. In 2003, the passionate and charismatic Gbowee helped organize and then led the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, a coalition of Christian and Muslim women who sat in public protest, confronting Liberia's ruthless president and rebel warlords, and even held a sex strike. With an army of women, Gbowee helped lead her nation to peace -- in the process emerging as an international leader who changed history.

Using examples of Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and others, Kurlansky argues that nonviolence is distinct from pacifism and when wielded properly, has tremendous power -- even the power to end wars. From ancient to modern times, Kurlansky shows how nonviolence has frequently been the best solution to conflicts, yet was and is often considered a dangerous notion.

Violence begets violence, ?so believes the majority of people around the world who have stood up in protest against war. "Stop the Next War Now" is a reflective look and call to action to end violence, by acclaimed peace activists, experts, and visionaries, including Eve Ensler, Barbara Lee, Arianna Huffington, Janeane Garafalo, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Hong Kingston, and many more.